- It is an International Environmental Treaty
- It is a UN Treaty
- Open for signature in 2001 in Stockholm
- Became effective in 2004
- It aims to eliminate or restrict the production and use of persistent organic pollutants
- Signatories : 152
- Parties : 180
- India is a party to this treaty
- US is not a party to this treaty
- Why regulate POPs?
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- POPs are chemical substances that:
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- Persist in the environment
- Bio-accumulate through the food web
- Pose a risk of causing adverse effects to human health and the environment
- Intergovernmental Forum on Chemical Safety (IFCS) and the International Programme for Chemical Safety (IPCS) prepared a list, known as the Dirty Dozen :
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- Eight organochlorine pesticides: aldrin, chlordane, DDT, dieldrin, endrin, heptachlor, mirex and toxaphene;
- Two industrial chemicals: hexachlorobenzene (HCB) and the polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) group; and
- Two groups of industrial by-products: dioxins and furans.
- POPs can be reviewed and added to the convention, if they meet certain criteria for persistence and transboundary threat i.e. list of POPs can change and evolve over time.
- There is provision that developed countries provide new and additional financial resources and measures to minimise/regulate POPs to developing nations.